the bipartisan leadership of congress, i authorized military action to stop the killing and enforce u.n. security council resolution 1973. we struck regime forces approaching benghazi to save that city and the people within it. we hit qaddafi's troops in neighboring ajdabiya allowing the opposition to drive them out. we hit qaddafi's air defenses which paved the way for a no fly zone. we targeted tanks and military assets that had been choking off towns and cities and we cut off much of their source of supply. and tonight i can report that we have stopped qaddafi's deadly advance. in this effort, the united states has not acted alone. instead, we have been joined by a strong and growing coalition. this includes our closest allies, nations like the united kingdom, france, canada, denmark, norway, italy, spain, greece, and turkey. all of whom have fought by our sides for decades. and it includes arab partners like qatar and the united arab emirates who have chosen to meet their responsibilities to defend the libyan people. to summarize then, in just one month, the united states has worked